Air India slammed for poor service by angry UAE Indian residents

Manama: In a blow to India’s national carrier Air India, angry non-resident Indians from the UAE have complained about the poor services of the carrier, including frequent cancellations, delays and schedule cut-backs.

This has come in light of a reported heated spat between the staff and the passengers, mostly NRIs, of an Air India flight from Abu Dhabi to Kochi months ago, which led to the pilot raising a hijack alarm, and the arrest of six passengers facing hijack charges, Gulf News reports.

Passengers of the flight, which included pregnant women and children, complained about facing several hours without food, water and air-conditioning as the flight was delayed because of bad weather, the report added.

This is one of the many complaints against Air India. According to a NRI Farhan, a frequent Air India flyer from Dubai, the carrier has no concept of customer service or customer loyalty programme. Complaints about pending refunds following last-minute cancellations also crop up with alarming regularity, the report added.

However, Air India’s Regional Manager for the Gulf, Seema Srivastava said that according to their current figures, Air India has an excellent on-time performance out of UAE. Srivastava further said that the national carrier has an edge over other airlines because of its wide connectivity and network, along with attractive fares.